1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to data processing and, in particular, to data processing in a network environment. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus that permit a client to be easily introduced into a computer network.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional local area network (LAN) may include a number of clients connected to a server via a selected network topology. In the past, each client computer in such a conventional LAN would execute operating system and application software resident within its own non-volatile storage. Because each client computer typically had only one, or at most a few users, the application programs that were available and the user preferences governing the configuration of the operating system and application software could be individually customized on each client computer. Unfortunately, in the event of a hardware failure of a client computer's non-volatile storage device, the user of the client computer lost all of their operating and application software as well as their user preferences. Thus, recovery from such a failure would entail replacing the failed computer, performing a time-consuming reload of all operating system and application software (typically from floppy disks or CD-ROMs), and finally reestablishing the user preferences.
With the proliferation of network licenses for application software, it has become more common to install application software on the LAN server. Storage of the application software on the LAN server permits a user to download a copy of an application stored on the server to a client computer's non-volatile storage and then establish his or her own user preferences for the application. As before, these user preferences are stored in the non-volatile storage of the client computer. In this type of network environment, the hardware failure of a client computer is a less disruptive event since the application programs may be easily downloaded from the server once the faulty computer is replaced and the client operating system is loaded onto the replacement computer. However, the user must still reestablish his or her user preferences, which can be a frustrating and time consuming task.
In view of the foregoing, it would be useful and desirable to provide a client computer that can be easily introduced into a network, either initially or as a replacement of a failed client computer, so that a user is permitted to begin productive computing with a minimal amount of effort.